Harold Andrew "Duke" Dejan (February 4, 1909 – July 5, 2002) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

alto

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Dejan is best remembered as leader of the Olympia Brass Band during the 1960s and 1970s, when it was considered the top band in the city.

Biography

Born into a Creole family in New Orleans, he took

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

lessons as a child before switching to saxophone, and became a professional musician in his teens, joining the Olympia Serenaders and then the Holy Ghost Brass Band. He played regularly in Storyville, at Mahogany Hall, and on

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...

s. He also worked in the mail office of the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company for 23 years and played in Navy bands during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, Dejan returned to his day job and his music career, leading his own band, Dejan's Olympia Brass Band, from 1951. The band often appeared at

Preservation Hall Preservation Hall is a jazz venue on St Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation. History of the jazz hall In the 1950s, art de ...

, recorded nine albums, and toured internationally, making 30 concert tours of Europe and one of Africa. The band appeared in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

movie '' Live and Let Die'', and in many TV commercials. In 1991 Dejan suffered a stroke, which left him unable to play the saxophone, but he continued as a band leader and singer until shortly before his death. He was buried at

Saint Louis Cemetery Saint Louis Cemetery (, ) is the name of three Catholic cemeteries in New Orleans, Louisiana. Most of the graves are above-ground vaults constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cemeteries No. 1 and No. 2 are included on the National Regis ...

#3 in New Orleans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dejan, Harold 1909 births 2002 deaths Jazz musicians from New Orleans American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Olympia Brass Band members Eureka Brass Band members African-American saxophonists